Mystery Bird ID Quiz

By Corey • March 14, 2009 • 8 comments

Sabrina, a coworker of mine who lives in Tampa, Florida, sent me the pic below of a mystery bird that has been showing up of late and roosting all night on a beam on the roof of her porch. Mike, Charlie, and I had wildly divergent guesses, and when Sabrina eventually got a shot that included its head we were all surprised. Can you identify the Florida mystery bird?

Put your guesses in the comments and eventually we’ll reveal the answer and post the shot that includes the bird’s head.

Tags: florida, ID Quiz

Explore These Related Posts

...Or These Blasts From The Past

About the Author

Corey

Corey is a lifelong upstate New Yorker who recently took the plunge and moved to the city. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list and broke the magical 300 barrier in New York State in 2007 by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative. He lives near Forest Park in Queens with Daisy, their son, Desmond, and their two indoor cats, Hunter and B.B.

8 Responses to “Mystery Bird ID Quiz”

John Mar 14th, 2009 at 9:02 pm

To me it kind of looks like a rodent…
Diana L Guerrero Mar 14th, 2009 at 9:03 pm

Hard to tell with no scale and no head. My guess…Carolina Wren
tai haku Mar 14th, 2009 at 9:37 pm

I’m going to agree with Diana based solely on a post by Julie Z a few weeks ago about those white spots.
Amy Mar 14th, 2009 at 9:38 pm

I’m with Diana. Wouldn’t have thought of it if I hadn’t read this one: http://www.juliezickefoose.com/blog/labels/wren%20camouflage.html
Corey Mar 14th, 2009 at 10:41 pm

Darn that Zickefoose and her knowledge!

Not sure how I missed her original post but I am sure that she is pleased to know that the knowledge she shares is retained and used…
Julie Zickefoose Mar 15th, 2009 at 1:08 am

I feel like one of those pesky kids on Scooby-Doo. Velma, maybe.
Diana L Guerrero Mar 16th, 2009 at 2:28 pm

Guess my guess was good. Didn’t see the Zickefoose post just sorted through some of the species that might have been in the area. Guess I need to read more of her blog posts!

Nice to have validation since I was going to go crazy wondering…birds have not been my forte been a mammal gal mostly (even though I have worked with birds) and thought I’d take up a new hobby.
Kevin Mar 17th, 2009 at 9:09 am

Late to the party, but looks like the backside of a Carolina Wren - and they do love to nest on porches, especially fond of hanging plants.

Share Your Thoughts

Asides

First Bird of 2010

What was your first bird of 2010? Let us know in the comments…and, if you wrote a blog post or have a picture of your first bird of the year online somewhere, well, leave a link in the comments too.
Happy New Year from all three of us at 10,000 Birds! And here’s hoping you see many great birds, including lots of lifers, in 2010!

‘Mermaids’ battered by boats

“Each year, about 87 manatees are killed by collisions with boats, the single greatest cause of premature mortalities. This is more than seven times number of manatees that the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates can be killed without impairing the species’ recovery. Meanwhile, boating in Florida is at an all-time high and increasing with more boats in the water…”. Another good example of why the International Year of Biodiversity ought to matter.

Residents Crying Foul…

…over Common Peafowl. Seems that Longboat Key, Florida, has way too many of the gorgeous gregarious birds and has to continually cull the flock. And Longboat Key isn’t the only community in the U.S. with a peafowl problem: apparently California and Texas locations have had issues as well. So introducing non-native birds because they are pretty might not be the best idea? Who would’ve thunk it?

Say Hello to the Limestone Leaf-warbler

Is a new Old World warbler better than an old New World warbler? You be the judge! A new species, dubbed the Limestone Leaf-warbler (Phylloscopus calciatilis), has been discovered in the karst limestone regions of Vietnam and Laos. As ever, BirdLife International has the scoop.